Death is always with us and the fact that it is my final destination in my worldly journey cannot escape my mind. I sometimes toy with the idea most especially now that the world is facing its worst pandemic, the COVID-19 virus. I have realized that I too am a possible candidate for contracting this deadly virus that medics are yet to find a cure. Even if I survive this pandemic, I may be involved in an accident, suffer from a chronic illness, or even better die peacefully in my sleep. With these thoughts comes the question of how I would like my family and friends to conduct my funeral and pay their last respects.
Body Disposal Method Preference
My family and community prefer to bury the dead as the main method of disposal bodies. While this option seems to align with cultural and religious provisions, I tend to think that it not only consumes resources but also the time that is used in the preparation. My culture tends to engage in a weeklong wake as an honor to the dead something too costly considering the burial service is expensive too. Sunburn 2016 affirms this fact by claiming that the US cremation has surpassed traditional burials as a cheaper option, as it does not require embalming, caskets, and cemetery plots. For this reason, I would like for my body to be cremated and my ashes to be thrown into my community’s river so that my life just as the river flows endlessly.
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Place of Memorial and Subsequent Activities
I would love my memorial to held at my family home since this is a neutral place for my friends and families most of whom are not affiliated with my religion. I know my family members would have preferred a church to compensate for the lack of a funeral service in the church. However, I feel that my choice of cremation is commendable as it will be a fulfillment of the religious aspect of ‘ashes to ashes drawn from Genesis 3:19. During my memorial, I would wish that my family, relatives, and friends would read their tributes and ensure that they ignore the negatives. On this day, the mourners should have a procession as they go down the river to scatter my ashes and while at it sing my favorite songs. I would prefer if my close relatives most especially my children to be the ones to carry and scatter the ashes, maybe they would also follow my example. The reason why I have included these details is to ensure that my death shall remain etched in their memories, as it would be a departure from the traditions.
What Happens Next after the ‘Final Event’
Once my family and friends are done with scattering my ashes into the river I would wish for them to throw a party in my honor. I would not want my death to cause them pain but rather I would prefer if they celebrated me. I am an exciting person who loves fun and the party would be a continuation of this fun. I believe that this kind of reception will encourage my loved ones that life does not stop with my death but it is continuous. This thinking is supported by Kelly (2015) who asserts, “funerals increasingly rejoice in memories of the deceased's triumphs, relationships, and their favorite songs”. Funerals are now viewed as a celebration of life by paying tributes instead of mourning the deceased. My funeral and the subsequent activities would not be complete without the attendance of my colleagues from work. These people stood by me when I was starting my business, which has become an international sensation. Their absence would mean that all this while, they have been pretending to care about me. I just hope that those that I will leave behind will honor my wishes to the letter or risk my ghost sneaking in on them to torment them.
References
Kelly, J. (2015, June 14). Happy funerals: A celebration of life? BBC News Magazine. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31940529
Sunburn, J. (2016, August 1). Cremation is now outpacing traditional burial in the U.S. Time. https://time.com/4425172/cremation-outpaces-burial-u-s/
